Time for a definition: ENCOURAGE
Merriam-Webster says:
1) a : to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope : hearten. b : to attempt to persuade : urge
2) to spur on : stimulate
3) to give help or patronage to : foster
Origin:
Middle English encoragen, from Anglo-French encorager, from en- + curage courage
First Known Use: 15th century
You could call it putting courage in you. To me it is creating courage. It wasn’t there a moment ago, and now it is.
Where did it come from? How do you get courage? How do you prevent discouragement? Can you prevent fear? Wouldn’t that be great?
Let’s look at another source, Paul, the man who wrote much of the New Testament:
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
The Bible has been a source of inspiration and strength for centuries. Paul had a rough life by anyone’s standards. He wrote in Greek and the root word he used that we translate as encourage is paraklete. It means one called along side to help.
If you literally translated verse 17 it would go something like this – may he “stand fast you” in every good deed and word.
I like the picture of courage as standing fast. I like the idea that we are not required to stand fast alone. I hate alone.
The idea that courage is something we can gain and share is what “The Art of Standing” is all about. Whether my job is finding courage or standing with someone and encouraging, my mission is to do it well.
My hope is that, here, we can find courage together.
Photo from The U.S. Army via Flickr
From article Homeless Dogs Help Healing Troops
Nehemiah 4 paints an amazing picture of how people were used to stand along side others to shore them up and provide encouragement in the face overpowering adversity. As half of the people labored to repair the walls that protected Jerusalem, the other half stood in the gap with them, one hand working to assist them, one hand working to protect them.
It’s fairly easy to see that a lesson about encouraging one another is taught here. Encouragement is active. Sometimes it requires that we help others with their burdens. Sometimes it requires that we stand between them and what seeks to do them harm. Sometimes it requires both. The mission of encouraging others is certainly a very high calling.
Great lesson. Everything I know I learned from encouragers who are better at it than I am and I look forward to hearing from them and learning more here. Thanks David! Good stuff.